When Soft Power Backfires

The soft approach of the European Union and the US towards Russia surrounding the secession of Crimea is quickly backfiring.

I must say, I did not think it would be that quick. While Europe has been pondering on what type of sanctions to employ, calculating carefully its own potential losses, the situation in Ukraine has deteriorated once again.

It is difficult to determine to what extent the latest events in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk are coordinated by Moscow, but they certainly work in Vladimir Putin's favor. They also carry a bitter deja-vu-like flavor for the West, of what happened in Crimea.

Russia accused the West of supporting "radical fascist" movements on the Maidan. The masked men occupying government buildings and raising Russian flags these days are not much different, but we do not hear any condemnation.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov argued that the latest events are a mere consequence of the destabilization of Ukraine, caused by the West. He is right in so far as the EU's lack of a unified and firm counterattack against Russia's annexation of Crimea only paved the way for further similar acts.

Just when will European leaders learn from the scars of the past?

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